Ben H
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Posts posted by Ben H
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Yes mine came yesterday Adrian, again, excellent service and very helpful. I haven't yet decided what to fill them with. I think silicone might work.. Let me know how you get on
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Great colour scheme John! It'd almost match my Extra with the orange and dark blue, although mine is more a purple than blue.... You shouldn't have any bother picking it out in a crowd!
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A good six hours flying down south for a couple of us at the strip today. Clear blue sky's but a bit more wind than forecast, 10-15mph... Things are looking up!
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We had a mornings flying at the BMFA Spring ModelShow at RNAS Yeovilton yesterday. It was pretty windy early on and very windy at about 2pm when we decided to call it a day. A good turn out concidering the weather, we sent up a mix of turbines, gassers, glow and electric models put on a display for the public. It was nice flying from the Tarmac rather than the usual soggy field! And nice to see the full size in the fleet air arm museum. Great day out..
Shame my Edge 540 met with the Tarmac as it seemed to stall on the downwind to crosswind leg.. I initially thought I'd been locked out as it was not responding to my inputs, but It was gusting about 35mph at the time, which couldn't be fully felt where the pilots box was sheltered partially by the hangers. With hindsight I think the strong gusting wind speed on the downwind leg, exceeded my airspeed, causing it to stall and fall out of the sky as I initiated a turn. It wasn't until I went to salvage the model that I realised just how windy it was further out on the tarmac. Oh well, it's not as badly damaged as it first looked, it'll give me something to do while this weather continues!...
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Glad you had a good flying session Adrian. It sounds like you might want a bit more weight forward rather than aft, if inverted doesn't require any down at all.. How is it in a 45° up line, rolled to inverted? Should hold its line for a few seconds then gradually pitch to the canopy. Mine actually holds its line indefinitely, but still requires a little forward stick when inverted - I like a rearward cg though as I do 3D as well as IMAC. It sounds like your cg is further aft than mine, which may not be ideal for sport flying.. All in my opinion obviously, and don't want to tell you how to suck eggs etc....
Did you try the 23x8? I'd be interested to know your rpm with the OS...
I had some great flying this morning also, 5 X 15min flights, and zero wind until midday! High rates were increased about 10% with more expo, this helped with knife edge spins and tumbles. When breaking it down to put in the car, I noticed some loose coverin around the outer aileron hinge on one of the wings.. The hinge is broken! Guys, check your hinges!! I'm lucky not to have lost an aileron or part of it! For the benefit of other readers, these come pre glued at the factory. It looks like the hinge has broken out of the aileron, but the plastic has fractured, leaving most of it still glued in, and only 6-7mm of plastic attached to the hinge joint!
I'm not sure what to do here.. Not easy to change the hinge, or replace with a Robart type pin, without cutting all the others. Any suggestions? I wonder if this should be warranty from MacGreggors as it seems to be a manufacturing defect??
On the bright side, I put a dash in which gives it a nice scale look. Just need to fix the hinge now as I'm flying at the Yeovilton Model Air Show on the 20th!
Edited By Ben H on 11/02/2016 17:21:48
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Glad to hear you got the same positive response as I did Adrian. For the filling I initially thought of expanding foam, but I think it'd be too rigid. I think silicone would do it, although a little heavy
maybe a smear of Vaseline on the rubber where it meets the fuse would help promote movement there too?. I'm hoping for some flying time Thursday at long last, it's been nothing but wet and gales here too!
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Hi Adrian, they are sending me replacements in their next shipment, after their new year. I'll pm you...
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Posted by john stones 1 on 04/02/2016 19:39:57:
Photos aren't great, they'll want a little sanding.....
Does that help John?
Looking really good, not long until the maiden eh..
Edited By Ben H on 05/02/2016 10:09:51
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Hatch is looking good John, I do like the look of those stringers, well worth the fiddlyness..
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Posted by Erfolg on 02/02/2016 17:44:59:
BEB
You are at it again.
You do not need to know however number of words there are. You need to know and understand what they mean to you. I also find it offensive to suggest that those who cannot remember the exactitude of the wording are not fit to fly a model aircraft. I have known one or two who are/were not perhaps the most academically equipped, who were aware sufficiently to be safe to themselves and others.
I know that the BMFA is fond of quoting the chuck glider, yet without the detail of what happened etc, I hope you will forgive me for being a little jaundiced at just accepting the case on face value, as being why children should be prevented from playing with flying models.
The question that needs to be answered why is knowing with any precision an exact act, more important than an understanding of your responsibilities with respect to what are considered the important aspects, and the responsibilities that flow from that understanding.
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Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 02/02/2016 12:48:57:
Barry, the ANO applies to everyone. It is the law and, as has been stated, ignorance of the law is no defence.
The A-cert is not the law and is not a regulation. It really doesn't matter if someone doesn't know about changes in that. It might be a disadvantage to them - or it might not, depending on your point of view! So there is no requirement on clubs, the BMFA or individuals to spread the word on this.
However, as I opened with, the ANO (specifically the four articles 137, 138, 166 and 167), are required to be complied with - even if all you're flying is a paper aeroplane - it makes no difference, you are subject to the law. It therefore makes perfect sense to me that we should expect pilots to know these four brief articles, by heart if necessary. But I appear to be in a minority of one in that view!
BEB
I (and probably the vast majority) agree with your statement BEB, and I'd expect most of us know the content of the ANO's. What your possibly in the minority for is the requirement to recall a three digit number, and which ANO it relates to.
I'm sure many of us will have no problem with the number, however, it does seem irrelevant to me...
Edited By Ben H on 02/02/2016 17:40:56
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We are pretty lucky Colin! As Percy rightly says, it's fairly high up at our site. It's also a full size farm strip, with cracking views of the Dorset countryside! It's been pretty soft of late, but at least it doesn't flood... Let's hope this cold dry spell continues!
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Thanks Adrian, it certainly wouldn't hurt if more people write to pilot RC with their opinions of the lg fairings. I'll let you know the response when I hear back. The weather has been colder but less windy, so hopefully it'll be good when you get back! Got out this morning for five tanks of fuel. Started fine tuning the rates and expo to get it feeling how I like it. I'm thinking about decals now to give it an individual look.
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Another early bird here this morning. -2 degrees at the field on arrival and the ground was nice and solid for a change. I had the same problem as you Colin, fingers were going numb after 10 minutes or so of flight! Managed to get five more tanks of fuel through the new Extra 330sc. Some crosswind landing practice by lunchtime as the wind picked up to about 10-15 mph. I don't know what it is, but I love the look of an aircraft crabbing over the strip on finals! Didn't want to push my luck any further though so called it a day...
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Looking great John
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Thanks Martin. Good point and yes I do have (and had activated) a throttle cut on a switch as well as failsafe set to 0% throttle. Despite many crashes blamed on radio gear failures or weird erratic behaviour, I believe they are very rare, so I do trust the radio to keep the throttle locked off. However I accept your point that others may not realise I have throttle cut and your right, it is bad practice to put your hand through the prop arc. Thanks for pointing it out
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Thanks Bryan, I'm sure yours will fly just fine on that ZDZ. If I were you I'd look at filling the fairings with something before you fly it. I'll let you know the response from Pilot RC, might go through Macgreggor as they supplied it and have been very helpful so far.
Thanks John, it was perfect weather for a change. The field is a cracking site, and is also a full size strip, hence the lack of trees!
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Same down in sunny Dorset, not a drop of wind! Managed to maiden the Extra 330 without incident and plant the edge 540 on her nose! Lucky that the frost had thawed by then and the then soggy patch saved her from damage! **LINK**
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What a fantastic flying day! The wind sock has been horizontal for most of the last two months, but today it hang straight down, not a drop of wind!
So, the maiden flight!..... No dramas, just two clicks of right and two clicks of up saw it flying straight and true. The cg at 1/8" behind the tube is pretty good, requiring just a hair of forward stick when inverted. The low rates were still a bit high for my liking, so reduced them all by 10%. This is better but still needs less rudder throw on low as it'll knife edge on half stick. Knife edge is effortless, very little coupling to roll, 5% opposite aileron sorted that out, and no coupling to pitch. On high rates it'll knife edge loop with ease. Vertical performance is... wow!...not only unlimited but is seems to accelerate! It's a rocket ship on the DLE 55ra. Didn't push this too much on the new engine though. The stall is a non event, settling into a harrier with the tiniest wing rock until the nose comes up into a full stall. Very easy to control. Hover is steady at about 40% throttle. The high alpha stuff was done way up at a safe height which makes it harder but until I have confidence in engine reliability at all attitudes, I'd prefer to play it safe. Most of the time was spent doing some basic pattern stuff which it is very smooth and precise at, but again the rudder throw needs reducing, that huge surface is very powerful! Spin can be flattened out nicely with some opposite aileron and a little power and it does the best pop tops I've seen on any model. Landings are as easy as it gets, floating down very gently at low speed. I didn't experience the sudden dropping that Adrian noticed, maybe cg or all up weight? Adrian, I'd be interested to know how moving your cg back helps with this.
Down sides, just the landing gear to fuse fairings, like Adrian, mine cracked from taxiing in grass! Mine were free to move on the fuse but still both cracked! In my opinion they are not fit for purpose, being so thin and cheap plastic, very brittle. I'll write to pilot RC and request some more. Next time I'll fill them with either silicone or expanding foam, to give them some core strength.
6 flights under my belt with her today and I think this one is a keeper! There's a bit of video in the following link, with harrier and hovering from 6:55min **LINK**
And if you want a laugh, here's some footage of my edge 540 doing some low torque rolls and taking an unplanned visit to terra firma!
**LINK** -
Thanks John, having seen the attention to detail you have been putting into your Ballerina build, that's a fine complement! I'm a firm believer that attention to the small things makes for a nice flying and reliable model.
Well, the weather is looking cold but good for a maiden tomorrow. I had the afternoon off so managed to complete the radio setup. I've gone with the book settings of 12 degrees elevator and ailerons on low rates, 40 degrees elevator and 30 degrees aileron on high rates. Rudder is 40 and 45 degrees. I don't like much expo on low or high rates, but because of the radius that the control arm follows, the movement is not linear. So I found 10% expo on low made for linear movement (to counteract the mechanical expo due to the control horn radius), and about 30% expo on high (because the control horn is moving further and further away from a linear movement as it gets towards the end of its travel). Does that make sense? I'm not sure I've explained it very clearly!?!
I did some wire management with cable ties, and checked all the fastners. Prop bolts re-checked and all three batteries had a discharge test and re charge.
I decided to run a tank of fuel through, so hopefully no supprises tomorrow. By the end of the tank, which was split into four shorter heat cycles, the DLE was giving me a peak rpm of 1840 and reliable idle at 1620 ish. Here is a short video of it running.. **LINK**
Fingers crossed for tomorrow....
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Sounds like your in the right place for winter Adrian! No shortage of flying days there I bet!
I'm thinking of a maiden on Saturday, the forecast is for light winds and sun so all being well....
The fuel tank and switches arrived today. Stuck the tank down with some wide adhesive Velcro, putting an additional small strip on the wing tube to protect it from vibration where it makes contact.
With the JR switches, I soldered my own 22awg input leads on with a deans connector to go to the packs. I prefer this method rather than cutting and splicing, or using too many joiners. Then added more of my favourite braided sleeving!
I also sleeved the satellite receiver extensions and put one vertically in the decking, the other across the width down on the "floor" in the tail.
Finally for today, a blob of hot glue in the horizontal stabs to keep the servo wire away from the control horn.
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Having fitted the batteries, I wanted to check the cg again. But first I fitted the wheel pants.
These were straight forward enough, I chocked the plane level and stuck some blue masking tape on the back of the pants to make it easy to mark the holes, and prevent scratches. Holes were drilled with a 4mm bit which makes a hole that will accept the captive nut perfectly. I use a small off cut of silicone fuel hose over the bolt, between the landing gear leg and the pant to provide a little compliance that helps with the longevity of the fiberglass pant (I fly from a grass strip!)
I used an adhesive pad to attach a small bubble level to the side of my cg tool, being careful to make sure it was perpendicular to the horizontal line. It turns out I wasn't so careful drilling the holes in my cg tool! The zero position that should be in line with the back of the wing tube (standard cg point), was actually drilled 1/8" further forward, making the next hole back 1/8" behind the tube, then 3/8", 5/8", 7/8" behind. This actually turned out to be good news as without any additional weight, the cg balances perfectly at 1/8" behind the tube. A good starting point for the maiden flight.
My satellite receiver extensions arrived so my next job will be fitting these back in the decking. Still waiting for switches and a fuel tank to arrive.. I have got a smaller 350cc tank in there temporarily, which would do for a maiden, but the flights would be short I think.. I'm waiting on a 500cc tank. Then just the radio setup and I can maiden this beauty!
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Here is a link to the sleeving on Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meters-4mm-BRAIDED-SLEEVING-EXPANDABLE/dp/B00LBEBMCE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1452547676&sr=8-2&keywords=braided+sleeving
Pilot-RC Extra 330SC 88" 50cc
in Build Blogs and Kit Reviews
Posted
If you have any desire to do 3D flight, especially prop hanging, I'd highly recommend you get the fastest servos you can at the required torque. You'll definitely feel the lag on lower end servos (lack of torque and speed with large deflections) making the manoeuvre significantly more difficult!
Of course if you only plan on sports flying and pattern flight manoeuvres , the 5645 / 5625 will be fine.